Circumstances leading to UVic student's fatal overdose 'shocking,' says drug squad investigator

Karin Larsen · CBC News

· Posted: May 06, 2025 10:35 PM EDT | Last Updated: 4 minutes ago

A cause squad researcher said it was "shocking" to larn how 18-year-old University of Victoria pupil Sidney McIntyre-Starko came to person and past ingest the toxic drugs that killed her.

Saanich Police Department Const. Ben Scoones made the remark portion testifying connected the seventh time of the B.C. Coroners Service inquest into the January 2024 decease of McIntyre-Starko.

Scoones was tasked with investigating imaginable cause trafficking connected the UVic field a fewer days aft the first-year pupil died of a fatal fentanyl overdose in a UVic pupil dorm.

"It's specified a shocking communicative that idiosyncratic recovered drugs and past decided to usage these drugs arsenic a radical without knowing what these drugs were oregon wherever they came from," helium told the coroner's tribunal jury.  

In grounds past week, a pistillate UVic pupil known only as "Student 1" told the inquest that she recovered a container of unopened vino coolers connected a downtown Victoria thoroughfare aft a creation class. Student 1 said she took the vino coolers backmost to field connected the autobus earlier handing the container implicit to 3 friends.

The 3 friends — McIntyre-Starko, "Student 2" and "Student 3" — recovered a vial of powdery substance successful the bottommost of the box, according to testimony, and made a determination to snort the substance successful a dorm bath the pursuing evening. Names of the students are protected by a work ban.

 "All 3 of the witnesses provided the aforesaid accusation and provided the aforesaid communicative [and] there's thing to contradict that story," said Scoones.

Drugs packaged successful solid vial unusual, researcher says

In his years investigating low-to-mid level cause dealing successful the Victoria area, Scoones said seeing drugs packaged successful a solid vial alternatively of a tiny integrative container oregon tin foil is unusual.

"That is beauteous unique," helium said. "It's thing you would spot successful a movie, similar a Scarface movie, wherever you person radical utilizing drugs retired of tiny cocaine vials. But it's not thing we typically spot successful Victoria."

Scoones said it besides wasn't emblematic for drugs to beryllium near unattended connected the street. 

He testified that helium went to the Johnson Street determination wherever Student 1 said she recovered the vino coolers to effort and cod information oregon CCTV footage, but nary was available. There was besides nary information video of the nationalist fume pit connected the UVic campus where Student 1 testified she handed implicit the container of vino coolers to the others, helium said. 

Student 2 and Student 3 besides overdosed aft snorting the drugs, but lone Starko-McIntrye died.

The coroner's inquest was called aft her parents raised concerns astir the effect of UVic field information and the magnitude of clip it took for fentanyl-reversing Narcan and lifesaving CPR to beryllium administered to their daughter.

Forensic toxicologist Dr. Aaron Shapiro testified that individuals who snort the aforesaid drugs tin acquisition vastly antithetic effects depending connected things similar the granularity of the powder, however good the cause is mixed with cutting agents and however profoundly it is inhaled into the nasal passages and lungs.

Despite the initial test of the drugs indicating it was a substance of cocaine and fentanyl, the authoritative toxicology study recovered nary hint of cocaine successful McIntyre-Starko's system. The level of fentanyl detected, helium said, was a perchance fatal concentration.  

Shapiro, the subordinate technological manager of toxicology astatine the B.C. Centre for Disease Control, said that the earlier Narcan is fixed to idiosyncratic who is overdosing, the greater the accidental of survival. 

The inquest is scheduled to tally into adjacent week. 

If you oregon idiosyncratic you cognize is struggling with substance abuse, here's wherever to look for help:

• Government of Canada database of resources and services.
• Kids Help Phone: 1-800-668-6868. Text 686868. Live chat counselling connected the website.